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No Foreign Transaction Fee Credit Cards

Traveling is expensive enough. Save money with a credit card that has no foreign transaction fee. Whether your sampling local cuisine or shopping online abroad, these cards give you one less thing to worry about. And for even more travel perks, check out our list of travel cards from our partners.

See offers from our partners below.

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CreditCards.com is an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. The offers that appear on this site are from companies from which CreditCards.com receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and the likelihood of applicants' credit approval also impact how and where products appear on this site. CreditCards.com does not include the entire universe of available financial or credit offers.

Earn 25,000 bonus Starpoints® after you use your new Card to make $5,000 in purchases within the first 3 months.

Earn 2 Starpoints® for each dollar of eligible purchases at participating SPG® Marriott Rewards® hotels. Earn 1 Starpoint® for all other purchases.

Redeem Starpoints® for free nights at over 1,300 hotels & resorts in over 100 countries and for free flights on over 150 airlines with SPG Flights. Some hotels and resorts have mandatory service charges.

With this card, you can help DAV empower veterans to lead high-quality lives with respect and dignity. USAA Bank will contribute to DAV when you open an account, make eligible purchases and keep an active account.

Get 2,500 Bonus Points after your first purchase.

Start earning 1 point for every $1 spent for all your every day purchases.

Redeem points for 1% cash back or use them to purchase travel, gift cards and merchandise. You can also redeem your points and donate to your favorite military affiliate group.

Comparing Credit Card Offers with No Foreign Transaction Fee

CreditCards.com's Best International Credit Cards with No Foreign Transaction Fee of 2018

Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card

HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard® credit card

Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card

Discover it® Cashback Match™

Capital One® Savor℠ Cash Rewards Credit Card

Bank of America® Travel Rewards Credit Card

The Platinum Card from American Express

The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN

Many credit cards charge a foreign transaction fee, but there are some that don’t. If you are a frequent traveler or shop online with overseas vendors, it might be worth your while to find a card without a foreign transaction fee. But there are some things to know, which we explain here:

What is a foreign transaction fee?

What counts as a foreign transaction?

Tips for spending internationally

How to choose the right credit card with no foreign transaction fee

We not only explain what you need to know about foreign transaction fees, but also overseas travel and picking the right card. Take a look here:

What is a foreign transaction fee?

Foreign transaction fees are charges many credit card issuers placed on purchases made in a foreign currency or on purchases that involve a foreign bank. Most foreign transaction fees are 2%-3% of the purchase. There are actually 2 fees: One from the payment network and one from the card issuer. Networks Visa and Mastercard typically charge a 1 percent fee for each foreign transaction. Then, issuers might charge an additional 1%-2%. American Express, which doesn’t use Visa or Mastercard’s payment system, often has a foreign transaction fee of 2.7% on its cards.

What counts as a foreign transaction?

A foreign transaction can be a purchase processed through a foreign bank or when you travel overseas, including when you use ATM machines. (Note that there can actually be multiple fees at a foreign ATM machine, including a flat-rate international ATM surcharge and an ATM access fee.) The foreign transaction fee is a charge that is processed by a foreign bank or is in a foreign currency. Heads up that even if the charge is in U.S. dollars, if it passes through a foreign bank, there can be a foreign transaction fee.

Tips for spending internationally

Diversify. “My biggest tip for spending overseas is to diversify; always carry both cash and credit,” says Lyn Alden, world traveler and founder of Lyn Alden Investment Strategy. “Credit cards are safer, more convenient and give better rewards, so I use them as my primary spending method. But when you're outside of your country, it's critical to have backups, and to have alternate ways to spend.” Some travel experts recommend that you carry 2 cards with different issuers and different networks.

Know your card terms. If you can't readily find information about foreign transaction fees, pick up the phone and call the number on the back of your card. It should also be displayed with your “rates and fees” clause. Note that terms of cards from the same issuer can vary. If you travel frequently, it may make sense to apply for a credit card that does not charge foreign transaction fees.

Research your overseas bank network. Check if your bank is part of a global ATM network that you can use to access cash overseas for free – or at least at a lower cost.

Always pay in the local currency. Sometimes, foreign merchants will offer to convert your purchase to U.S. dollars before you pay with your card. Decline so that you avoid dynamic currency conversion costs that you’ll have to shoulder. “So many places try to say ‘convenience,’ but the rate is not favorable to the traveler,” says travel blogger Suzanne Wolko of PhilaTravelGirl.com.

About those traveler's checks. “Don’t bother; they are too much of a hassle,” says Wolko.

Call your bank. Make sure they are aware that you may use your ATM card in the country you will be traveling to, says Wolko.

Use only credit abroad. Some travel experts actually advise that you not use a debit card in a foreign country. That’s because you are protected when there is an unauthorized charge on your credit card, and you might be protected if a product isn’t delivered as promised. A debit card, with your PIN, can mean free money for the bad guys, if your bank doesn’t have protections in place for you. Check with your financial institution.

Try local apps. Wolko advises that you use apps tied to your credit card to avoid dealing with cash or credit cards, such as Uber, Lyft or MyTaxi.

How to choose the right credit card with no foreign transaction fee

Does the card fit your lifestyle? OneSavvyDollar.com founder Ogechi Igbokwe says he knew that once he graduated from grad school, he planned to travel overseas, so a card with no foreign transaction fee made sense.

Does it come with an annual fee? Says Igbokwe: “Golden rule when making a purchase: The cost of getting a thing must never outweigh the benefit.” So, make sure you will recoup on the annual fee or that the card has an advantage that makes the fee worthwhile.

Is it widely accepted? “A no foreign transaction fee card is only good if it is accepted everywhere you go,” says Natasha Rachel Smith of TopCashback.com. For example, she says, while 2 of the major card networks are less common outside of the U.S., Visa and Mastercard are more popular overseas.

Any rewards? Because there is such a wide range of cards offering no foreign transaction fee, you’ll want to look at rewards that are offered. However, “prior to applying for any card, check the terms and conditions to make sure the card allows you to receive rewards on international purchases,” says Smith.

What other features are there? Krista Canfield McNish, of travel website and blog FoodWaterShoes.com, has a card that covers up to $1,500 in trip cancellation/trip interruption insurance per trip for non-refundable expenses due to personal or family injury, illness, or death if you booked your trip with your card, which she says is a handy bonus. “I also love that the card doesn’t require me to call [the issuer] or to log in online to notify them of upcoming travel before I take off,” McNish says.

Chip and PIN or chip and signature? Most U.S.-based cards are chip and signature (for now), while in other parts of the world, such as Europe, they use chip and PIN. Both are designed for increased safety. (If your card is exclusively magnetic stripe, [the old common system] that could be an issue for overseas travel – best to apply for a card that carries the chip technology, called EMV.) For the most part, chip and signature will work fine overseas, provided there is a cashier, but if this is an issue for you, check with your bank to see if your card uses a PIN.

Have you done your research? “Keep in mind that not every country is U.S. credit card-friendly (for example, European cards are more likely to work in countries like Cuba than U.S. credit cards), so it's a good idea to do your homework before you take off,” says McNish.

Want
more information?Once you narrow your choice down to a few products, you can find product-specific reviews for travel
cards, hotel cards and airline
cards. Use these reviews to help make your final application decisions!

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ADVERTISER DISCLOSURE
CreditCards.com is an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. The offers that appear on this site
are from companies from which CreditCards.com receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where
products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they appear within listing categories.
Other factors, such as our proprietary website's rules and the likelihood of applicants' credit approval also
impact how and where products appear on the site. CreditCards.com does not include the entire universe of available
financial or credit offers.